§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government for particulars of the new treaty signed with the Sultan of Brunei.]
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, the Agreement was signed in Brunei on November 23 amending the 1959 Agreement between Her Majesty and the Sultan of Brunei. Copies of the text have been placed in the Library, and the Agreement will shortly be printed as a Command Paper in the normal way. The Agreement provides that Her Majesty's Government will continue to be responsible for Brunei's external affairs. The State of Brunei will have full responsibility for all internal affairs, including public order. The two Governments will consult together about measures to be taken, separately or jointly, in relation to any external threat to the State of Brunei.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, in thanking the noble Earl for that very full reply, may I ask him, first, whether the arrangements for internal control cover the distribution of the oil wealth, which has in the past gone to the Sultan, and been benevolently used; and, secondly, whether there is any intended association of Brunei with the Malaysian States of Sabah and Sarawak which it divides?
EARL FERRERSNo, my Lords; the Agreement does not cover any possibility of an association between Brunei and the 468 neighbouring States. With regard to internal control, this is entirely a matter for the Government of Brunei.